So, there seems to be a new twist on an old scam going around, and I thought a quick warning to the community here might be in order. Given the number of "zomg, I've just been scammed!!!!" threads that seem to pop up, I hope you'll indulge the heads up.
Old version: user says they'll trade you Steam wallet funds for an item/game/whatever, types "/me has transferred $X.XX to your Steam Wallet" (producing a very official looking chat message), and then tells you to hand over the item. Steam nerfed this scam by removing the /me chat feature.
New version: user sends you one of those fancy newfangled official "Trade Offers" wherein they put an official looking message like "$X.XX will be transferred to your Steam Wallet balance." in the text box, accompanying a trade offer with your valuable item and nothing on their end. You accept the trade, they get your item, you get nothing.
To boil it down, there is no scam-proof way to transfer Steam wallet funds from one user to another in a trade. The day such a feature is implemented, I can guarantee it will be big news and the consequences will be discussed ad nauseum on forums like this one. Until then, do not believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
I just ran into someone trying (unsuccessfully :P) to run this scam on me, and when I went to report them on Steamrep I noticed a bunch of similar reports, so apparently it's the new trick of choice for scammers. One slight oddity is that they seem to be coming from slightly more legit-looking accounts than your garden variety scammers, with some service time/Steam level/games on the account, etc. Not sure if they're phished accounts or doing a better job of looking like real accounts, but whatever. Stay safe out there!
[edit]: To clarify, "Steam wallet" is often used as shorthand for someone spending money in their own wallet on a game or item and then trading that item to you for your stuff. That's a perfectly valid way to trade. This post pertains to people telling you they'll put money directly into your Steam wallet, which is not possible.
Also just a side note, they have implemented trading threads on the steam forums, you can post there and anyone (if they are on your friends list or not) can send you a trade offer. So just a word of cation when using this new feature too.
And congrats for reading to the bottom of this wall of text. :)
So, there seems to be a new twist on an old scam going around, and I thought a quick warning to the community here might be in order. Given the number of "zomg, I've just been scammed!!!!" threads that seem to pop up, I hope you'll indulge the heads up.
Old version: user says they'll trade you Steam wallet funds for an item/game/whatever, types "/me has transferred $X.XX to your Steam Wallet" (producing a very official looking chat message), and then tells you to hand over the item. Steam nerfed this scam by removing the /me chat feature.
New version: user sends you one of those fancy newfangled official "Trade Offers" wherein they put an official looking message like "$X.XX will be transferred to your Steam Wallet balance." in the text box, accompanying a trade offer with your valuable item and nothing on their end. You accept the trade, they get your item, you get nothing.
To boil it down, there is no scam-proof way to transfer Steam wallet funds from one user to another in a trade. The day such a feature is implemented, I can guarantee it will be big news and the consequences will be discussed ad nauseum on forums like this one. Until then, do not believe anyone who tells you otherwise.
I just ran into someone trying (unsuccessfully :P) to run this scam on me, and when I went to report them on Steamrep I noticed a bunch of similar reports, so apparently it's the new trick of choice for scammers. One slight oddity is that they seem to be coming from slightly more legit-looking accounts than your garden variety scammers, with some service time/Steam level/games on the account, etc. Not sure if they're phished accounts or doing a better job of looking like real accounts, but whatever. Stay safe out there!
[edit]: To clarify, "Steam wallet" is often used as shorthand for someone spending money in their own wallet on a game or item and then trading that item to you for your stuff. That's a perfectly valid way to trade. This post pertains to people telling you they'll put money directly into your Steam wallet, which is not possible.
Original poster on SteamGifts. Thought i'd repost on this forum for anyone that missed it on SteamGifts.
Also just a side note, they have implemented trading threads on the steam forums, you can post there and anyone (if they are on your friends list or not) can send you a trade offer. So just a word of cation when using this new feature too.
And congrats for reading to the bottom of this wall of text. :)